Hen&#39;s nest.



S. A. MERKLE Y, P. H. APEL & W, A. MERKLEY.

HEN'S NEST.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 15, 1907.

Patented June 7, 1910.

SHEET 1.

May/who ,B M

S. A. MERKLEY, P. H. APEL & W. A. MERKLEY HENS NEST.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 15, 1907.

Patented June 7, 1910.

sea.- WKM.

S. A. MERKLEY, F. H. APEL & W. A. MERKLEY.

HEN'S NEST. APPLIGATION FILED JUNE 15, 1907.

Patented June 7, 19-10.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

S. A. MERKLEY, F. H. APEL & W. A. MERKLEY.

HENS NEST.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 15, 1907.

960,985. Patented June 7, 1910.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

UNITED s ATEs PATENT OFFICE.

STANLEY A. MERKLEY, OF BUFFALO, FREDERICK H. APEL, OF ATHOL SPRINGS, AND

' WIIZBURN A. MERKLEY, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

HENS NEST.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it. known that we, STANLEY A. Mann- LE1, of Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, Fnnnnnion II. APEL, of Athol Springs, in said county and State, and WiLnunN A. Mnnnnnv, also of Buffalo, aforesaid, citizens of the United States, have invented. certain new and useful Improvements in Hens Nests, of which the following 1S't1 specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in nests for poultry, and the primary object of the same is the production of a nest whereby the laying capacity or qualities of each hen in a hennery can be easily ascertained.

Other objects are the production of a hens nest whereby the laylng of an egg by a hen within the nest can be done under sanitary ponditions and wherein a stop-con trlvanee 1n an.egg-receptacle separates the several eggs, deposited therein and prevents the egg being deposited therein coming in contact with the egg last deposited.

Further objects are to provide a series of automatically releasable identifying bands whereby the hens having laid eggs are tagged when passing out of the nest; to so construct the nest that the bands are released successively on delivery of the eggs into the egg-receptacle; and to provide an egg-nestwhich will .lower under the weight of a hen and close the entrance door to the nest. I

Still further objects are to so arrange the nest that a hen can pass out through the exit door whether or not it has laid an egg, and whereby in the event of its leaving the nest without having laidan egg, it will not be tagged; to rovide means or agitating the bottom of t e egg-nest as the hen leaves it, so that assurance is had thatthe cg r will be deposited in the egg-receptacle anc also to assure the release of an identifying-band to be automatically placed around the neck of a hen as it passes through the exit door; and to otherwise improve on hens nests now in use.

With these objects in view, our invention consists in a nest having an egg-nest mov- .able-to close the entrance door, an egg-receptacle, a series of identifying hands automatically releasable on delivery of the eggs from the egg-nest to said receptacle, and an exit door normally closed and adapted to be Specification of Letters iatent.

Application filed June 15, 1907. Serial No. 379,294.

PatentedJune 7,

opened by the hens as they leave the nest and so arranged that a band is carried away by the hen as it passes outof the nest after having laid an egg; it also consists in the combination and arrangement of devices, and in the construction, arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter described and. particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a central longitudinal section of a nest embodying our invention. Fig.2 is a view of the exit end of the nest. Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on line 33, Fig; 1. Fig; 4 is a plan view of the nest with the cover open. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken on ine 5-5, Fig. 1. Fig. (3 is a horizontal section taken on line (36, Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a sec. tion similar to Fig. 1, through a portion of the nest, the egg-nest. being shown in the position it assumes under the weight of a hen, and the entrance door being closed thereby. Fig. 8 is a detached inverted perspectivc view of the nest proper and its attions showing the band releasing-device in different positions. Fig. 14L is a view showing :1 released identifying-band against the exit door. Fig. 15 is a perspective view of one ofthe hangers for supporting the identifyingbands. Fig. 16 is a detached perspective view of the band releasin -member. Fig. 17 is a perspective. view of t 1e egg-receptacle removed from the nest. Fig. 18 is a perspective view ofthe one of the ta ged identifying-bands in expanded condition with a combined hanger and retainer whereby it. is supported and retained in expanded condition. Fig. 19 is a perspective view 'of the same in contracted condition and released from its hanger. Fig. 20 is an enlarged section of a band in expanded condition and the hanger and retainer therefor. Fig. 21 is an enlarged section of a band in contracted condition. Figs. 22 and 23 are perspective views of a modified from of I closed and retained in shown in Fig. l, and it ends to the sides of the 'in a plane above the up identifying-band 'in expanded and. contracted condition, respectively. F igs. 24 and 25 are enlarged sections of the same.

Fig. 26 is a erspective view of a still further modifie form of identifying-band and hanger.

Referring now to the drawings in detail,'

like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

A represents the nest casing com rising an inclined bottom a, side walls a, en walls a and ahinged cover a whereby access may be had to the interior. One end wall has a door B which is hinged at its lower edge-to the bottom of the casing and is normally closed position bya turn-button b, or in any other manner; it having a handle 6 for conveniently opening it.

C designates the egg-nest comprising an open frame pivotally secured between its casing, as at 2., and a flexible bottom or hen-rest c Said frame is normally held in an incline position, as

comprises longitudinally disposed side-bars c transverse end bars 0 c, the latter having its upper edge per edges of the side bars, and an intermediate transverse bar 0 The flexible bottom on hen-rest c has its marginal portions secured to the side -bars, the end-bar c and the intermediate bar c so that it forms a suspended-bed and it has centrally an opening 0 through which the eggs pass that are laid thereon. A decoy egg D s fastened to the bottom or hen-rest to entice the hens into the nest.

. A trap-door E is provided at the entrance end of the casing and is pivotally secured to the sides thereof, as at c,- it being normally in the position shown in Fig. 1, so that it forms a platform at the entrance to the nest. Between its pivotalpoint e and its outer free end, the end bar 0* of the eggnest bears,'said end bar having friction-rollers e at this point to assure positiveand free 'action between these parts. A fiat spring e is secured to the inner end of the entrance trap door and bears'against the top of the nest frame, tending to retain said gloor in its open position when relieved of the weight of a hen.

In entering the casing, the hen first lands upon the platform or entrance door, and then enters the eg -nest, and in so doing its weight lowers the nest to the position shown in Fig. 7, causing the outer end to rise and act upon the platform or door to close the entrance, thus preventing its leavin the nest through the entrance opening. gfter the hen has laid an egg, it leaves the nest by passing through the exit-doors F at the opposite end of the casing. It must, howeveri step upon a platform G pivotally attache to the end-bar 2:

comprises a bottom is, end

toward the exit end 'of the casing.

' of their ends to the of the nest frame, which platform is depressed by the weight of the en and causes an agitating-framebg secured thereto to raise or shake the nest-bottom thereby assurin a positive delivery of the hewly-laid it eg t ough the opening in said bottom. Sal agitating-frame is referably made of wire havin longitu inal members 9 and cross-members g which surround said openin The eggs passin through said 0 ening and upon an incline guide-board arranged transversely and secured to the side-bars of the egg-nest. From the 'guide-boardH they roll upon a balancedevice I, herein shown as a longitudinally disposed board ivotally secured between its ends to the sldes of the casing 'and having a cushioning-device J forme by curving. a thin sheet of tin or the like upon itself, a's-at j, and secured at its incurved'end j to said board. Converging bars are secured to said board on o pothe eg into an egg-receptacle K restin upon t e inclined bottom of the casing an removable through the door B at the entrance end of the casing. Bl reason of the egg-receptacle restin upon t e inclined bottom, it isgiven the esired inclination to direct the eggs delivered therein toward the exit end of the casing. Said receptacle walls is, 10 and parallel side walls k which guide the eggs point directly beneath the discharge end of the balance-device an elevated and cushioned platformL is provided in the eggreceptacle onto the balance-device. A series of overlapping stops M are pivotally secured nearone side-walls of the receptacle, as at m, the first of these rests upon the platform L and each succeedin rests upon the stop directly in a vance. The first egg dropping upon the platform L rolls over the successive stopswhich normally assume a position approximately arallel with the bottom of the egg-rece tac euntil it strikes a ainst the end wal k of the receptacle, which is cushioned, as at l, and as it reaches this point, its weight on the end stop in rear of its pivotal point causes said stop to be swun into a position approaching a vertical plane, as shown in- Fig. 10. he next egg delivered into the receptacle rolls over the remainin overlapping stops until it strikes the en stop,

which the eggs drop from when it acts against the second-last stop in a similar manner and elevates the same so that it also acts as a stop for the next delivered into the egg-receptacle; this being continued until the receptacle is removed and emptied or until all the stops are elevated. We might here state that as no provision is made to close the entrance At a.

stopsite sides of said cushioning-device to direct against a hen'after the egg-receptacle is filled, we make the latter of sufficient size to receive all the eggs that can be laid in a single day by a given number ofhens,

and that'additional nests are neededin protportion to the number of hens 1n a hennery.

in opposite directions and they are main tainedin closed position by springs f.

'A series of hangers O are held on the aide-wire N and each has a coptractible ldentifyin -band 0 held thereon. Each of these ban s has a numbered'tag 0. afiixed thereto, or if desired, the bands may be differently numbered and the tags dis-- pen'sed with. A releasing-device P is provided to successively release said bands and allow them to slide' on the guide-wire unt l they come in contact with the-exit-doors. Th1s releasing-device compr ses a rock-shaft 79 having its ends journaled 1n the side walls of the casing, a rock-arm-p at one end of said shaft, a rod 1) connecting sa1d arm with the rear end of the balance-device J, and a U-shaped releasing-member p se- I i cured to said rock-shaft and. having two pairs of arms p p straddling the "aidewire and so arraiiged that the arms W111 release the first band of the series or the firs of the remaining-bands of the series, as-the case may be, when the rear end of the balance-device is elevated, while the arms 7') momentarily hold the next band of the series against. movement. When the balance-device returns to its normal osition, which occurs immediately an egg r0 ls therefrom,the rock-shaft;- p also returns to 1ts normal position, in consequence of which the arms of the releasin -member are disengage rom the band w ich they momentarily engaged, and said band, which now becomes the first of the remaining bands of the series, is engaged by the arms p and held in .position until another egg) is delivered from the egg-nest onto the alancedevice, when it also rides down the guidewire I\.

For convenience in cleaning the nest, we-

provide a door R at the exit end of the casing. 1 7

Each ofthe identifying ba ds is made of a flat tempered steel strip coi ed upon itself to a size that it will fit loosely around the neck of a hen, yet not so loosely as to be possible to slip it over the head of the hen without expanding it.- Each end of the strip has a loop 01 which surrounds a"')0r-' tion of the hand between its ends. mally these bands are in contracted condition but when applied to thehangers 0, they are expanded. Each of the hangers consists of an eye 0 which fits onto the'guide wire N and a band-holder having two diver ing arms 0 provided with inturned ends 0* t rat engage the loops 0 of the cdiiperating band when expanded and retain the band in expanded osition; The inturned ends of the band-ho ding arms are tapered and the edges thereof beveled, as at 0, so that the bands are easily released by slight rearward pressure on the latter, such as a hen would exert when passing its head. through the band and attempting to leave the nest with the same.

Each band when released by the releasingdevice I, rides down the wire and is posttioned inside of the exit doors so that it registers with the opening formed by the notches n in the edges of said doors. A hen in leaving the nest, passes its head through said-opening and through the band in rear of the opening, and as it pushes open the door it carries the band and its hanger with it until it reaches the curved portion of the guide-wire, at which point the hanger is held against further movement in the direction inwhich the hen is traveling and consequently the band becomes released from the hanger and immediately assumes its normal or contracted condition, and is carried away around the neck of the hen. Owing to the band being numbered or having a numbered tag secured thereto, it is an easy matter to record in a book kept for that purpose, the number of eggs laid by each hen in a certain period of time. It is, of course understood, that the hens are provided with nmnbcrvd leg-hands or other identifying means. In

order that the hens do not come in contact with the series of bands, or the remainingbands of the series, as the case may be, a

guard s in the form of an inclined transversely disposed board is located beneath the bands, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

In Figs. 22 to 25, we have shown a modificd form of identifying-halal, in which a strip of tempered steel is coiled upon itself.

'recurved end t of the band engaging the teeth t it is impossible to remove the same The hen in passing out, takes the released which actuates the suspended bed or bottom from the neck of a hen without disen aging said end from the tooth enga ed there y.

In Fig. 26 a further mo lfication of an identifying band is shown. In this instance, the hanger designated U has outstanding pins u onwhich is held an elastic band u having a numbered tag u secured thereto.

Briefly stated, the operation is as follows,a hen entering the nest, closes the entrance door-through the lowering of the e gnest induced by the weight of the hen. Al er having laid an egg, the hen in leaving the nest, steps upon t 1e pivoted platform G,

of the eg 11est and assures delivery of thenewly. lai egg onto the balance-device if not prevlously delivered thereon; from the balance-device the e g passes into the egg-re ceptacle. The delivery of the egg onto the balancedevice causes the rear end of the latter to be elevated which actuates the band releasing-device and allows the first of the series of identifying-bands or the first of the remaining bands of the series, as the case may be, to 'ride down the guide-wire N and position itself in rear of the exit-doors and in registration with the opening therein.

band with it, leaving the hanger to ride down and around the curved portion of the guide-wire to a position where it is out of the way, as shown in dotted lines at V, Fig. 4. If,'however, a hen leaves the nest without laying an egg, the balance-device is not actuated, and consequently no band is released. This permits the hen to pass without taking a band with it. At the end of the day, the eggs may be removed from the egg-receptacle, the number therein must agree with the number of hangers hanging on the guide-wire outside the nest. The numbered or tagged identifying-bands may be removed from the hens, the designatin member of the hen from which each band 18 taken may be noted; and in a book kept for that purpose, record may be made of the henshaving laid during the day. In this manner the laying capacity or qualities of each individual hen may be ascertained, and the eggs of any desired hen used for hatching. If desired the hangers for supporting the identifying-bands may be numbered to correspond to the number of the band which each supports, and when this done, the particular egg laid by each hen may beascertained; the first egg deposited being that of the hen having the band numbered to correspond to the number of the first hanger of the several hanging on the wire N outside of the nest.

Our invention is susceptible to various changes in form, construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit thereof or sacrificing any of its advantages.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is-- 1. The combination with a casing, of an egg-nest within the casing, and means to tag a hen leaving the casing only after having laid an egg. v 2. The combination witha'casing,"of an egg-nest in said casing, and means to tag a hen controlled by an egg laid by said hen.

3. The combination with a nest, of means for ta ging a hen controlled by an egg laid in sai nest.

4. .The combination with a nest, of means for tagging a bonus it leaves said nest, said means being actuated only -after the-hen has laid an egg.

5. The combination with a casing, of a nest within the casing, an egg-receptacle, and means for-tagging a hen as it leaves the .casing, said meansbem actuated on delivery of an egg from sai ceptacle.

-6. The combination with a casing having an entrance and an exit, an eg -nest within the casing, a series of identi ing-devices, and means for successively releasing said denest to the egg-revices to be carried away by the hens as they leave the casing, said releasing-means being actuated by the eggs laid within said casing. 7. Thecombination with a casing having an entrance and an exit, an egg-nest within the casing, an egg-receptacle into which the eggs are delivered from said eg -nest, a series of identifying-devices, and means for successively releasing said identifyingdevices so as to position them in the path of the hens leaving the casing, said releasing means being actuated by the delivery of the eggs from the egg-nest to the egg-receiptacle.

'8. The combination 0 an egg-nest, and an egg-receptacle having a series of stop-plates which are elevated in succession to form stops for the eggs delivered into said egg-receptacle.

9. The combination of an egg-nest, and an egg-receptacle having side walls and a se- 11% of stop-plates, each of the latter being pivoted betweenits ends and adapted to be elevated to form stops for the eggs delivered into said egg-receptacle.-

10. The combination of an egg-nest, and

an inclined egg-receptacle having a series of.

overlappin stop-plates over which the eggs roll, said p ates being pivoted between their ends and adapted to be elevated successively by the successive eggs delivered into'said receptacle so as to form sto s for the eggs.

11. The combination o an egg-nest, and an inclined egg-receptacle having side walls, end walls andstop-plates pivoted between their ends to said side walls andoverlapped to form an egg-runway, one of said stopplates being elevated on delivery of each egg into the egg-receptacles to form a stop for the next egg'delivered thereto.

12. The combination with a casing, of an egg-nest within the casin an eg -receptacle into which the eggs are elivere from said egg-nest], a balance-device between the eggnest an the egg-receptacle actuated by the eggs as they pass from the eg -nest to said feceptacle, a series of ident1 ing-devices normally held out of the path of'the hens as they leave the casing, and means actuated by said balance-device to successively release said identifying-devices to allow them to move into the path of the hens to be carried away with them as they leave the casing.

13. The combination with a casing, of an egg-nest within the casing, an egg-receptacle, a balance-device actuated by the eggs passing from the egg-nest to said receptacle, a rockshaft, connection between said rock-shaft and said balance-device, a U-shaped releasemember on said rock-shaft, an inclined guide-wire, a series of identifying-devices held on'said guide-wire and adapted to be released successively by said release-member soas to ride down said inclined guide-wire and be positioned in the path 0 the hens leaving the casing.'

p 14-. The combination of a nest having an opening in its bottom, and a cushion onto which the eggs are delivered, said cushion being formed of a thin sheet of metal curved upon itself and suitably fastened.

15. The combination of a nest comprising a frame and a flexible suspended bottom having an opening, and-an agitating-device acting against said bottom to assure delivery through said opening of an egg laid thereon.

16. The combination of a nest comprising a frame and a flexible bottom having an opening, a platform pivotally attached to said frame, and an agitating-device secured to said platform and acting against the underside of said bottom.

17. The combination of a'nest comprising a frame and 'a flexible bottom having an opening, a pivoted platform, and an agitating-device actuated by said platform and acting against said bottom.

18. The combination of a nest c uprising a frame and a loose and flexible bottom secured to said frame and having an opening, and an agitating-device comprising longitudinal and cross-members which surround the opening in said bottom, and means for causing said agitating-device to act against said bottom when a hen leaves the nest.

19. The combination with a casing having an entrance and an exit, an egg-nest movable by the weight of a hen, a closure for said entrance actuated by the movement of said nest to cause it to close said entrance, a closure for said exit, a guide-wire, and an identifying-device on said wire comprising a hanger and a band supported b' said hanger and releasable therefrom, sai band being adapted to be released from said hanger and be carried away by a hen as it leaves the casing.

20. The combination with a casing having an entrance and an exit, an egg-nest movable by the weight of a hen, a closure for said entrance actuated by the movement of said nest to cause it to close said entrance, a closure for said exit, a guide-wire, and an identifying-device comprising a hanger and an expansible band held in expanded condition on said hanger and adapted to be released from said hanger and assume its normal condition, said band being released by a hen as it leaves the casing.

21. The combinationwith a casing, an egg-nest, and means to tag a hen as it leaves the casing, comprising a hanger and an identifying-band formed of a strip of tempered metal coiled to permit of expansion and having loops at the ends of the stri surrounding intermediate portions thereo said loops being engaged by the hanger.

22-. The combination with a casing, an egg-nest, and means to tag a hen as it leaves the casing comprising a hanger having diverging arms tapered and directed inward at their ends and an identifying-band formed of a strip of tempered metal coiled to permit of expansion and having loops at the ends of the strip surrounding intermediate portions thereof, said loops being enga ed by the hanger when the band is in expanded condition.

In testimony whereof, we have affixed our signatures in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

STANLEY A. MERKLE'Y. FREDERICK H. APEL. VVILBURN A. MERKLEY. lVitnesses ELL'A C. PLUEQKHAHN, Crmrs'r FEINLE. 

